Manager vs IC: Which Path Fits Me

My team lead asked the question

During a 1:1, the team lead casually asked: "What direction do you want to go next year?" It was roundabout, but the meaning was clear. Manager track, or stay as an IC (Individual Contributor)?

Year five. I knew this question was coming. But when it actually landed, I couldn't answer. Said "let me think about it." A month later, I still don't have a conclusion.

What changes if I become a manager

I observed our team lead. Three to four meetings daily. The person who responds most on Slack is the lead. Coding time appears to be near zero. Instead: schedule coordination, stakeholder communication, performance management, hiring interviews.

I asked directly: "Don't you miss coding?" The answer was unexpected. "I did at first, but I realized that keeping 6 team members running smoothly has more impact than me writing code alone." I understand it intellectually. Emotionally, not yet.

Are there limits to staying IC

In Korean IT companies, clear career paths for senior ICs are rare. Large companies have Principal Engineer or Staff Engineer titles, but at smaller companies, "Senior Developer" is often followed directly by "Team Lead."

Compensation differs too. Comparing managers and ICs at the same tenure, managers earn about 15-20% more according to surveys I've seen. (Varies by company.) Money alone shouldn't drive the decision, but it's hard to ignore.

And I keep hearing from senior colleagues that surviving as an IC gets harder with age. In your 40s, if you're still coding, people wonder "why haven't you become a manager yet?" I'm not sure if this is uniquely Korean or universal.

Would I even be good at managing

Honestly, I'm not confident. In conflict situations, I often don't know what to do. Could I mediate disagreements between team members, or give constructive feedback to someone underperforming?

And I'm the type who loses awareness of surroundings when focused. Three hours vanish when I'm coding. Becoming a manager means that flow time disappears. Am I ready to give that up? Not yet.

On the other hand, deciding technical direction and shaping a team's development culture sounds interesting. Being a manager isn't just "management."

What about the hybrid approach

A lot of people hope for "coding and managing," but I've heard repeatedly that it doesn't work in practice. You end up doing both halfway. From the team's perspective, "our lead missed an issue because they were busy coding" breeds resentment.

Small teams (3-4 people) might be different. Less management overhead. Our team is 6, and the lead says managing 6 people while also coding is unrealistic.

I looked at how others did it

Searched developer communities for people who've been IC for 10+ years. Abroad, many companies have clear IC paths: Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer. Compensation is equal to or even higher than managers in some cases.

But in Korean startups, I've almost never seen that. Maybe at the big tech companies (the so-called "NAVER-Kakao-LINE-Coupang-Baemin" tier), but at my company's scale, after Senior comes Team Lead. If there's no IC path, it's ultimately manager or leave. That's a worry too.

A senior told me "you have to try management to know it doesn't fit." Probably true, but I worry about whether you can actually come back. I've heard switching from manager back to IC isn't easy.

Still no conclusion

A month of thinking and I still don't know. I'll probably tell the lead "I want to keep growing as an IC this year, let's revisit next year." I know that's deferring the decision. But starting the manager path without conviction could make both me and the team miserable.

One thing I'm sure of: the desire to keep coding is still strong. I don't know how long that lasts, but that's where I am right now.

Anyway, I need an answer by the next 1:1. More thinking to do.